Higher Ground
I was recently talking to some one who was interested in getting an allotment,and as the conversation ensued it came to light that they had the impression that once all the digging and planting was done it was just a case of popping back once a week to harvest bucket loads of lovely fresh veg.
After pointing out that it was not that simple, the talk turned to vegetables that could be planted and left to get on with it. So as time went on the list started to get longer and longer.
As a matter of fact there are dozens of perennial vegetables from every corner of the vegetable world to choose from, and to suit all sizes of garden, including salad leaves, brassicas, roots, onions and edible flowers.
If you’re looking for something architectural, you could do worse than globe artichokes, with their ragged grey/green leaves and towering flowers. It not only looks a treat, but the flesh of the immature flower heads is delicious.
There are wonderful perennial alternatives to the staples – of the many perennial onions, my favorite is the welsh onion. Similar to a spring onion but a real perennial prop forward of an onion.
And if you’re looking for an alternative to the potato, try oca, another South American tuber that resembles a new potato but tastes a little lemony when just picked, sweetening if matured in the sun, and immune to blight. Beware though Oca is a member of the Oxalis family and though having pretty flowers it can be invasive.
Jerusalem artichokes are a member of the sun flower family though the flower is much smaller. I once grew these as a wind break to help shelter an exposed plot, but as you might know once eaten you tend to end up with break wind.
Ruby or rainbow chard can bring a splash of colour to and garden plot, it makes a good alternative to spinach.
Most of the herb family are generally considered perennial or of coarse shrubby. With Bay,Rosemary and sage giving colour to the garden in winter.
Then there is the matter of soft fruit. Rhubarb, an old favorite of mine gives one of the first harvests in the spring. Then on to the berry and current families and not forgetting the queen of summer fruit the strawberry.
Of coarse there is no point growing food that you don’t eat or even like but with some planning and initial ground work followed by copious mulching.
So one could have a plot that need minimal care through the season. But also be a thing of beauty and even be planted amongst the flower border
Sowing
and planting
- Sow French beans, runner beans, squash, cucumbers and pumpkin
seeds directly into prepared beds outside. Be alert to late frosts (for
which a covering of horticultural fleece should provide sufficient
protection).
- Sow sweet corn outside in blocks, at least 45cm (18in) spacing,
with two seeds per hole. The strongest seedling can be selected later.
- Sow purple sprouting broccoli for harvesting next winter.
- Other young plants can be planted out once conditions are
suitable, and once they've been hardened off
General care
- Earth up potatoes when the shoots are 23cm (9in) high, in order to
prevent the new tubers going green
- Start to remove side shoots from cordon tomatoes as you see them.
The side shoots develop in the leaf axils (i.e. between the stem and
leaf), and if allowed to develop will sap the energy of the plant and
reduce the quality of the yield.
- Peas need staking with pea sticks, netting, or pruned twigs from
the garden.
General tasks in the fruit garden
- Make sure fruit isn’t drought stressed, especially those in
containers, against a wall or newly planted.
- Make sure bees can access caged and cloched fruit flowers to
ensure pollination.
